Lib Dems warn Labour and Tories: "Stop Stealing Our Schools' Money"

4.05.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 24th Oct 2007

County schools have expressed concerns about the effect of these proposals on their ability to plan for the future

At the end of September, the Labour Government put out to consultation a proposal to take away 5% of the surplus cash left in every school's budget and redistribute it to local authorities. Now the Conservative-run Northamptonshire County Council has topped it - by taking 8% from the unspent money of the county's nursery, primary and secondary schools!

The move comes despite the Council's own report admitting the opposition of local teachers, where the County Council's scheme has already taken £30,560 from local schools in September - with one-fifth of that total taken from a school near Oundle.

Chris Nelson, a Lib Dem campaigner from Kettering, criticised the move:

"Just over a week ago, I wrote to all the schools in Kettering Borough concerned about the proposal from the Government that would take £1.8m from the county's schools - and was told by one headteacher that this might mean that they would 'squander' money to ensure it is not clawed back."

"Yet, whilst David Cameron attacks the Government plans at Prime Ministers Questions, I am quite frankly amazed to find that the Conservatives at County Hall are taking yet more money from the reserves that schools build up to pay for forthcoming projects or to save for a 'rainy day'. They are saying one thing nationally and doing another thing locally."

"Both proposals amount to little more than a callous 'smash and grab' on careful schools that plan for the future. I call on both the local Labour and Tory parties to start listening to the concerns of local schools and oppose these plans before they further damage our children's education!"

ENDS